Best friend toy box

My wife mentioned that the Vilas County Humane Society was having its annual auction to raise funds and needed donated items to auction. So I ended up making this small box as a pet toy box for the event. I made another with different dimensions as a Christmas present for a family member. This time seeing as I started with rough slab wood I wanted to balance out the box as I wood burned, free hand a cat and dog paw print for the event. I build the entire box as one piece first then once all put together cut the top off with my table saw so that everything matches perfectly. I hope even though simple in design that it gives them a good bidding war to help fund the shelter.

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Nice work. I volunteer at the local ASPCA here. I perform most of their maintenance work so that they can free up funds for food, litter, etc. The only thing better than building a work of art is building a work of art for a good cause.

-- I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in. -John Muir

Char, nice build. I like your work and the contrast in colors. You have mastered the art of building boxes. A house full of artisans sounds like quite a lifestyle.

You might be able to combine carpentry and weaving talents. You build a box like the one below and replace the inset wooden top with a Masonite piece that has cloth wrapped around it.

The cloth is fit and stretched around a piece of Masonite. Then put the woven top and Masonite in a one gallon freezer bag. Next, build and finish the box, and after waxing the box cut away the bag which leaves a clean woven top to a box. Wrapping the cloth around means you can see the cloth when the box is closed and also when the box is opened. Using the freezer bag means you don’t have to be too careful about sawdust, glue, and finish while building the box.

Of course you have already got a great method and design, but if you would like to consider investigating some different techniques, here are some to use when building boxes. They are arranged by topics.